1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of vibration isolation mounting systems used to join adjacent bodies and which attenuate the transmission of mechanical vibration and acoustical energy from one body to another, and particularly to the field of sonar sensor mounting systems.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Sonar transducers are employed in underwater marine vehicle guidance applications to both transmit and receive vibrations in predetermined bandwidths. Received vibrations emanate from both intended sources and from unintended noise sources. Received noise from unintended sources tends to mask the information contained in those vibrations from intended sources. The benefit of increased sonar transducer sensitivity or receiver amplifier sensitivity is diminished in a system incapable of discriminating between a signal and noise because the noise content is amplified along with the signal information. Mechanical and acoustical isolation of the sensors from acoustical noise sources within the vehicle improves the signal to noise ratio thereby improving the resolution and sensitivity of a system using electrical signals from the affected transducers.
Isolation mounting systems typically comprise a mount or supported mass to which the sensors are attached, a housing or base in rigid contact with the vehicle structure and a non-rigid or flexible support or linkage means or structure between the housing and mount. The support or linkage means or structure is typically fabricated from rubber or other elastomeric medium selected to attenuate or impare the transmission of acoustical energy from the vehicle housing to the mount.